The Siegfried Line, known in German as the Westwall, was a German defensive line built during the 1930s opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than 630 km. From September 1944 to March 1945 the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large-scale Allied offensive; the official name for German defensive line construction program before and during the Second World War that collectively came to be known as the "Westwall" changed several times during the late 1930s reflecting areas in progress. Border Watch programme for the most advanced positions Limes Programme Western Air Defense Zone Aachen-Saar Programme Geldern Emplacement between Brüggen and Kleve These programmes were all pushed forward with the highest priority, putting a concentrated demand on available resources; the origin of the name "Westwall" is unknown, but it appeared in popular use from the middle of 1939. Small bunkers with 50 cm thick walls were set up with three embrasures towards the front. Sleeping accommodations were hammocks.

In exposed positions, similar small bunkers were erected with small round armoured "lookout" sections on the roofs. The programme was carried out by the Border Watch, a small military troop activated in the Rhineland after the region was re-militarised by Germany after having been de-militarised following the First World War; the Limes Programme began in 1938 following an order by Hitler to strengthen fortifications on the western German border. Limes refers to the former borders of the Roman Empire, its Type 10 bunkers were more constructed than the earlier border fortifications. These had walls. A total of 3,471 were built along the entire length of the Siegfried Line, they featured a central room or shelter for 10-12 men with a stepped embrasure facing backwards and a combat section 50 cm higher. This elevated section had embrasures at sides for machine guns. More embrasures were provided for riflemen, the entire structure was constructed so as to be safe against poison gas. Heating was from a safety oven, the chimney of, covered with a thick grating.

Space was tight, with about 1 m2 per soldier, given a sleeping-place and a stool. Surviving examples still retain signs warning "Walls have ears" and "Lights out when embrasures are open!" The Aachen-Saar programme bunkers were similar to those of the Limes programme: Type 107 double MG casemates with concrete walls up to 3.5 m thick. One difference was. Embrasures were only built at the front in special cases and were protected with heavy metal doors; this construction phase included the towns of Aachen and Saarbrücken, which were west of the Limes Programme defence line. The Western Air Defence Zone continued parallel to the two other lines toward the east, consisted of concrete Flak foundations. Scattered MG42 and MG34 emplacements added additional defence against both land targets. Flak turrets were designed to force enemy planes to fly higher, thus decreasing the accuracy of their bombing; these towers were protected at close range by bunkers from the Aachen-Saar programmes. The Geldern Emplacement lengthened the Siegfried Line northwards as far as Kleve on the Rhine, was built after the start of the Second World War.

The Siegfried Line ended in the north near Brüggen in the Viersen district. The primary constructions were unarmed dugouts, but their strong concrete design afforded excellent protection to the occupants. For camouflage they were built near farms. Standard construction elements such as large Regelbau bunkers, smaller concrete "pillboxes", "dragon's teeth" anti-tank obstacles were built as part of each construction phase, sometimes by the thousands. Vertical steel rods would be interspersed between the teeth; this standardisation was the most effective use of scarce raw materials and workers, but proved an ineffective tank barrier as US bulldozers pushed dirt bridges over these devices. "Dragon's teeth" tank traps were known as Höcker in German because of their shape. These blocks of reinforced concrete stand in several rows on a single foundation. There are two typical sorts of barrier: Type 1938 with four rows of teeth getting higher toward the back, Type 1939 with five rows of such teeth. Many other irregular lines of teeth were built.

Another design of tank obstacle, known as the Czech hedgehog, was made by welding together several bars of steel in such a way that any tank rolling over it would get stuck and damaged. If the contour of the land allowed it, water-filled ditches were dug instead of tank traps. Examples of this kind of defence are those north of Aachen near Geilenkirchen; the early fortifications were built by private firms, but the private sector was unable to provide the number of workers needed for the programmes that followed. With this organisation's help, huge numbers of forced labourers — up to 500,000 at a time — worked on the Siegfried Line. Transport of materials and workers f

Tarmstedt is a municipality in the district of Rotenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated 25 km northwest of Rotenburg, 25 km northeast of Bremen. Tarmstedt belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180. In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown — interrupted by a Danish occupation — and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1807 the ephemeral Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the Duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy was restored to the Electorate of Hanover, which — after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 — incorporated the Duchy in a real union and the Ducal territory, including Tarmstedt, became part of the new Stade Region, established in 1823. Tarmstedt is the seat of the Samtgemeinde Tarmstedt

Cycle of Suffering is the fifth studio album by British heavy metal band Sylosis, released on 7 February 2020 through Nuclear Blast. It is the band's first studio album since their hiatus in 2016, as well as their first to feature bassist Conor Marshall and drummer Ali Richardson, replacing Carl Parnell and Rob Callard; the band moves away from playing in E standard to D Standard. A music video for the song "I Sever", the first single from Cycle of Suffering, was released for streaming on 6 December 2019. All tracks are written by Sylosis. Josh Middleton – vocals, production, cover art Alex Bailey – guitar Conor Marshall – bass guitar Ali Richardson – drums Ermin Hamidovic – mastering, additional mix engineering Dan Goldsworthy – layout, design Official website